Field Hockey Quartet Receives NFHCA All-Region Team Accolades

Nov 17, 2011

WHITNEY FRATES

KYLE LYONS

HAYLEY RAUSCH

MEGAN BOZEK

CHANDLER, Ariz. – Whitney Frates (Woodstock, Vt.), Kyle Lyons (White River Junction, Vt.) and Hayley Rausch (Severna Park, Md.) of the ninth-ranked University of New Hampshire field hockey team were selected to the 2011 Longstreth/ National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Northeast Region First Team, the organization announced Thursday. Teammate Megan Bozek (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) was named to the Second Team.

The First Team honorees are considered for the Longstreth/NFHCA All-America teams, which will be announced Nov. 21. Frates was an All-America Second Team selection a year ago.

Frates, named to the Northeast Region First Team for the third consecutive year, started all 21 games in which she played and recorded 23 goals and 11 assists for 57 points. On UNH's list of single-season superlatives, those numbers rank tied for second in points and tied for third in goals. The senior forward and team captain ranks #3 in the nation in points per game as well as #8 in goals per game, and she led America East in both of those statistics.

Frates tied for the team lead in assists, game-winning goals (six) and shots (73), and she ranked second in both goals and points. She recorded a point in 17 of 21 games with a goal in 12 games, including eight multiple-goal efforts. Frates opened the year with a six-game point-scoring streak and also had a six-game point streak in October. Her season highlights included her 100th career point, 50th career goal, a seven-point effort (three goals, one assist) against nationally-ranked Stanford University and three-goal performances against Dartmouth College and Boston University.

Frates' 2011 America East conference accolades include Offensive Player of the Year, All-Conference First Team, All-Championship Team and four-time Player of the Week.

Lyons, who was a Second Team honoree in 2010, started all 22 games as a senior back and captain of the 'Cats. She recorded eight goals and eight assists for 24 points to rank third on the team in goals and points, and she also ranked third in shots with 67. The eight assists marks a personal single-season high and with that total Lyons ranked fifth in America East in assists per game.

Lyons opened the year with a point in five consecutive games and closed the regular season with a career-high two assists at Harvard University (Oct. 30). Overall, she tallied a point in 14 of 22 games. In addition to those contributions as a member of the offensive penalty corner unit, Lyons was a linchpin of the defensive unit and was credited with one defensive save.

Her 2011 America East accolades included All-Conference First Team and All-Championship Team.

Rausch, a senior forward, recorded 26 goals and 10 assists for a school-record 62 points in starting all 22 games. On UNH's list of single-season superlatives, those numbers rank second in goals. Rausch is currently ranked #2 in the nation in points per game and #4 in goals per game, and in America East she ranked second in gpg as well as tied for second in ppg.

Rausch led UNH in goals, points and shooting percentage (.342) and tied for the lead in game-winning goals (six); she also tied for third in assists. Rausch recorded a point in 21 of 22 games – she began the year with a 14-game point-scoring streak and ended with a point in seven straight – and scored a goal in 18 games, including eight consecutive games spanning Sept. 2-25, with six multiple-goal efforts. She became the first Wildcat since 1986 to score three goals in back-to-back games (against Brown University and Providence College) and tallied a career-high seven points at PC.

In three postseason games, Rausch tallied four goals and three assists for 11 points. That included a two-goal, one-assist effort against Boston U. in the America East title game and a one-goal, two assist performance against the University of Michigan in the NCAA first round game.

Rausch's 2011 America East accolades included All-Conference First Team, America East Championship Most Outstanding Player, All-Championship Team and Player of the Week.

Bozek, a sophomore back who was named to the America East All-Conference Second Team earlier this month, started all 22 games in 2011. She tallied five goals and one assist for 11 points as an integral part of the offensive penalty corner unit. That included the game-winning goal in the America East title game against Boston U. as well as a goal in the NCAA first-round game vs. Michigan.

Bozek tallied a career-high three points (one goal, one assist) at Providence on Sept. 4. She led the Wildcats in defensive saves with three and was also a prominent part of the Wildcats' defensive penalty corner unit.

UNH (17-5), under the guidance of 21st-year head coach Robin Balducci – recipient of the 2010 and 2011 America East Coaching Staff of the Year, won the America East regular-season and tournament titles en route to advancing to the NCAA Championship for the first time since the 2000 season. This year's squad tied the benchmark for wins in a season established by the 1986 national runner-up team and broke the single-season records for goals (78), assists (61) and points (217).